Oct 7th, Bologna to Venice

10/7     Monday

            Travelling in Italy is so easy! Just an hour or so on the train. Our host meets us right at the platform as we arrive, a woman with a great mass of curly black hair. She and her daughter drive us about a mile to the apartment. It’s huge, and we spend the first hour there wandering around trying to get organized. We’re in the city of Mestre, a residential city that looks all new, like it’s been built all at once, or was destroyed and started over. There are blocks of neat, five-story apartment buildings, like the one we’re in, and newer office buildings and hotels, all in the same modern style. It looks a little stark compared to all the historic cities we’re used to, but it’s very tidy, clean and safe, a nice place to live. Most of the people here consider themselves “Venetians,” who couldn’t afford to live in the city these days.

            We’re able to buy a 7-day bus pass, which is good for the bus and the boat bus in Venice. The boats are 7 Euros for a trip, so the pass is a real bargain for us. We test it out right away, and hop on a bus to the city.

            It’s only about a 15 minute ride to the main stop. We walk over the bridge to the fabled city of Venice. We see gondoliers and bridges and charming side alleys, just like in the pictures! It’s a cloudy day, and the soft grey light adds to the mystique. We just spend an hour or so walking around, then head back to Mestre.

            We have a nice restaurant on our block, although the lighting could be cozier. But the spaghetti with seafood is wonderful.

 1 Video Included

Bologna to Venice

Oct 6th, Bologna Foto Industria 2

10/6     Sunday

            Now it really is raining, a very drizzly day. We’re going to see the rest of the photography shows on our map, a little rain won’t bother us. It is so nice to see people walking around, visiting the exhibits, having a coffee, and enjoying the day, not caring at all about a little rain.

            The shows are spread all around the city, in banks and museums and empty buildings, making it doubly interesting, both the shows and the sites are something to see. I’m interested in seeing a show of Elliot Erwitt, a favorite of mine. He’s done a financial analyst company brochure with photos of children playing to illustrate the themes. A playground see-saw image comes under the heading “Balancing Risk.” The rest is amusing as well.

            We go into an ancient church to see a show by Bill Hunt, a collection of corporate employee photos; iconic images following a standard format. I look them over carefully, even though at first glance they all look pretty much alike. But I just know I’ll find something familiar. There’s an anonymous photo of eight guys in 1940’s attire all holding cans of Genesee beer, that’s close, but no cigar. Then – a company picnic photo for Security Mutual Life taken at Oquaga Lake, where we had our wedding! Mission Success!

            In a giant, empty palace – for sale, if you’re interested – we are treated to huge rooms set up as viewing theaters for a series of photos projected onto large screens. One documents the construction of the gigantic Airbus A380 aircraft. Another is a long-term study of the Rotterdam port, and another chronicles the restoration of the Savoy Hotel in London. The images are accompanied by music, electronic or classical, setting the tone for the display.

            In another site, the exhibition is work by Brian Griffin, a U.K. photographer known for album covers for Iggy Pop, Devo, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Depeche Mode. Here, we see his portraits of corporate leaders in unexpected poses. This is one of our favorite shows.

            We wrap up the day seeing photos of Chinese propaganda, South African mineworkers and boardrooms of corporate headquarters. All in all, it’s a very interesting project and we are happy to have dropped in on it during our visit to Bologna.

 1 Video Included

Bologna Foto Industria 2

Oct 5th, Bologna Foto Industria

10/5     Saturday

            Fall weather is truly coming on. It’s grey and chilly, almost rainy. We can take it. We’ll have a chance to enjoy the benefits of the many porticos of Bologna. We’re interested in seeing more of the F/I photo shows.

            In a bank building, the staff escorts us through the hall to see some corporate brochures that Henri Cartier-Bresson did for IBM. In another office building we see photos by Robert Doisneau for Renault. Companies like to add cache to their brochures with work from master photographers. It’s very interesting to see how the artists interpret their corporate customers.

            After our day exploring the photography, we head back to La Tamburini to indulge in their specialty salami platter. We order our plate and a bottle of regional wine, and sit back to enjoy the ambience. This time, our table is shared by people who are definitely Italian, and we all have a fine time.

 1 Video Included

Bologna Foto Industria

Oct 4th, Bologna Medieval Museum

10/4     Friday

            It is the day of the St. Petronius festival, and most of the streets in the city core are closed to traffic, hurray. Lots of people are out and there are buskers and balloon vendors with inflatable ponies and Nemos. There will be a choir concert and the Cardinal’s blessing later in the day.

            We want to visit the Medieval Museum, which is right near the plaza in a grand 15^th Century Palazzo . We get our audio guide and walk through the rooms of the museum, mostly small and softly lit, with a nice lady attending each area. One chamber is filled with carved sarcophagi and memorial tombs of the professors who had taught at the university. Normally these sculptures would be dedicated to saints or royalty, but in Bologna, the educators are honored. The carvings depict the professor at a desk, with attentive students on each side, an educational Last Supper.

            A guard lady motions for us to continue to a dark downstairs room, where she turns on the lights to reveal cabinets filed with illustrated manuscripts and medieval books. These are gorgeous! We can imagine the monks drawing the lines for the musical notes or working in the gold leaf with a tiny point. We remember the books from the Tallone press, continuing the tradition these historic texts embody.

            We return to the National Gallery to see the industrial photo show there. We learn that we are here in time for the Foto Industria Bologna, or F/I, a new exhibition series, intended to continue as a biennial, exploring the relationship of photography and industry, and set in some fifteen venues throughout the city. It’s a very interesting concept, showing works that are not typically presented to the public as art.

            This exhibit contains a collection of corporate books, annual reports and such from the 1950’s to 1980’s. The Mirelle Thijsen, a bald Dutch woman who is present and very excitedly explaining her concept to another visitor who is getting so much personal attention, she must have a local art connection. A second, huge room is filled with large photos by Belgian photographer Harry Gruyaert, who exploits the access he’s given to take corporate brochure photos to take great artistic scenes of factories and various industrial sites that are normally off-limits for viewing.

1 Video Included

 Bologna Medieval Museum

Oct 2nd, Bologna Walk

10/2     Wednesday

            We head into the city again, following a walking tour we’ve gotten from the Tourist Office. The walk is suggested as a three hour tour, but we’re into our second day with it. We walk through the streets, getting just a little lost, and find several of our sites closed for lunch. Italians like to shut down in the middle of the day, a very civilized habit. Along our route are dome very swanky designer shops, Gucci, Armani, Hermes, YSL, and when they are open, we see people in all of them, browsing and buying stuff.

            So, we walk around, stop at the Post Office for stamps, sit in the courtyard, until it’s time for things to be open. We’re interested in the Basilica of St Dominica, founder of the Dominican Order of monks. This church has an altar with several small statues that are early works of Michelangelo. They’re very nice to see. Then, there’s a special area behind the altar with an actual turnstile for entry. We pay our coin and enter. The rows of chairs are built with inlaid wood, delicate and intricate, that depict scenes from the life of Christ. They date from the 1500’s and are quite amazing.

            As we make our way back home, we pass a small storefront display room attached to a very expensive hotel. It’s called a Laboratory, and it looks like one, very spare, with stainless steel tables and racks on rollers. A woman dressed in whites is making tortellini. She rolls the pasta out on the table into a huge sheet, about 2 x 3 feet. A crowd starts to gather at the window with us. She has a big roller-cutter that sections the pasta sheet into one-inch squares. Then, she comes over to the door and invites us all to come in and watch closer. What fun! She takes out a bowl of meat filling and dabs some onto each square. Now, for the part we’re all waiting for – she picks up a little square, folds it and rolls it off her finger, twisting the ends into a tiny tortellini. She works so quickly, expertly and nimbly, popping out one little tortellini after another. We’re almost thinking it could be worth 35 Euros for a kilo.

1 Video Included

Bologna Walk

Oct 3rd, Bologna National Picture Gallery

10/3     Thursday

            Fall weather feels good to us after such a long hot summer. It’s nice out, cool and breezy. We have a visit to the National Picture Gallery, or Pinacotecia, which is in the University district, in the Academy of Fine Arts. They have a wonderful collection of works by Giotto and mostly religious works form the 15^th to the 18^th Century. It’s a nice museum to visit because the works are more accessible than most museums. You can really get close to see the details.

            It’s really fun to be in the University district. We’re surrounded by college students, bars, and inexpensive cafes. There are lots of people all around, mostly young students. It’s artsy and exciting, and totally different from the luxury shopping streets just a few blocks away.

1 Video Included

Bologna National  Picture Gallery

Oct 1st, Bologna Piazza Maggiore

10/1     Tuesday

            We have a stroll into the city, enjoying the porticos on the way. At the main plaza, there is a cathedral, the Basilica of San Petronio, draped in covers while it undergoes cleaning and restoration, the City hall, which houses a Civic Museum, and an incredibly impressive public library, where all the locals meet, hang out, read and research. We go in to use the restrooms. This Friday is a big festival for the Feast of Saint Petronio, with a Cardinal coming to give a benediction, so the square is filled with a stage and seating.

            We go into the Basilica and find it suitably impressive. We pay three Euros each to climb up the construction scaffolding to a viewing platform about ten stories up, making some money off the project, as it were. We have to sign a waiver saying that if we get hurt it’s our own damn fault. The view is very interesting, revealing the original medieval core of the city. The wealthy families all included a tower as part of their mansions and the city still has many of them rising up all throughout the city.

            The city has a nice energy to it, people are walking around, shopping, having cappuccinos, sitting in the plazas. There’s a noticeable mix to the people, white, brown, black, and not so many tourists. People seem to be just living and working and studying here, all out and enjoying the city.

            On our way home, we stop at a little grocery right on our street. They sell all kinds of pastas and wines, cheeses and deli items. We have to stop for some Bolognese tortellini, which we see in some shops for as much as 35 Euros for a kilo. Seems a bit much for pasta. We can buy a bag of fresh tortellini in this shop for about four Euros. Then, I browse the deli counter. Marinated artichokes? Must have. Olives. Must have. “Would you like some Parmigianino? The guy asks. Must have. We pick up a jar of sauce and put our things down at the register. The owner sees the sauce and the tortellini, and shakes his head. Oh, no, this won’t do at all. He finds a packet of beef bouillon for us. That’s for tortellini. He doesn’t speak any English, so the deli man and I have a convoluted gesturing conversation as to what needs to be done for the tortellini. At home, I cook the tortellini and make a light gravy with the bouillon. I’m not sure if I’ve done it according to the rules, but the results are delicious!

1 Video Included

 Bologna Piazza Maggiore